JP2001128181A - Method and apparatus for advertisement broadcast insertion in digital broadcasting - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To maintain a constant quality of advertisement broadcast video inserted into a main program video in digital broadcasting. SOLUTION: An advertisement broadcast encoder 162 is an MPEG encoder.
The advertisement video signal S1 is compression-encoded while controlling the generated code amount so that the occupation amount of the VBV buffer specified in the standard is equal to or less than a predetermined value C, thereby generating an advertisement bit stream Sc1.
This bit stream Sc1 is stored in the bit stream storage unit 164, and then read out during the advertisement broadcast period based on the advertisement selection control signal Ccm. Main broadcast encoder 12
2 means that the occupation amount of the VBV buffer is a predetermined value B = A−C
The main video signal S1 is compression-encoded while controlling the generated code amount so as to be the following (A is the size of the VBV buffer), and the main bit stream Sc2 is generated. Signal switch 15
0 generates the digital broadcast bit stream Sca by selecting and outputting the two types of bit streams Sc1 and Sc2 according to the advertisement selection control signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for inserting a video signal for an advertisement broadcast into a video signal of a main program in a digital broadcast.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional configuration for inserting a video signal for an advertisement broadcast into a video signal of a main program in an analog television broadcast (hereinafter referred to as "analog broadcast"). is there. In analog broadcasting, an analog video signal Sa2 for main program broadcasting output from an analog system main program broadcasting video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as “main program broadcasting VTR”) 12 and an analog system advertising broadcast video tape recorder ( An analog broadcast signal Sa1 output from an advertisement broadcast VTR 11 is switched by a signal switch 14 at a predetermined timing. That is, when the main program is broadcast, the analog video signal Sa2 for the main program is output from the signal switch 14 as the video signal Sa3, and the video signal Sa3 is broadcast. On the other hand, at the time of the advertisement broadcast, the output Sa3 of the signal switch 14 is switched from the main program broadcast video signal Sa2 to the advertisement broadcast video signal Sa1, and the video signal Sa1 is broadcast.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional configuration for inserting a video signal for an advertisement broadcast into a video signal of a main program in a digital television broadcast (hereinafter referred to as “digital broadcast”). In this example, the digital video signal Sd2 output from the digital main broadcast VTR 22 and the digital advertisement broadcast VTR 2
1 is switched at a predetermined timing by the signal switch 24. Thus, as in the case of the analog broadcast, the video signal for the advertisement broadcast is inserted into the video signal of the main program at a predetermined timing. However, in the case of digital broadcasting, the signal switch 2
The video signal Sd3 output from the high efficiency encoder 26 is
To generate a compressed video signal Sd4,
This compressed video signal Sd4 is broadcast.

[0004]

As described above, in the digital broadcasting, unlike the analog broadcasting, the signal switching unit 24 inserts the video signal for the advertisement broadcast into the video signal for the main program, and then switches the signal switching unit. The compression encoding is performed on the video signal Sd3 output from the H.24. As a method of this compression encoding, MPEG2 (Moving Picture Expe
A method involving inter-frame coding such as rt Group 2) is used. In such compression encoding, if a scene change occurs, distortion may occur in the video after the scene change.
Therefore, in digital broadcasting, the video signal Sd3 input to the high-efficiency encoder 26 is compressed by a scene change in which the video signal Sd2 for the main program is switched to the video signal Sd1 for advertisement broadcasting by the signal switch 24. Distortion occurs in the advertisement broadcast video based on the video signal Sd4, and the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast cannot be kept constant.
There is a problem.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a digital broadcast
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for inserting an advertisement broadcast that can prevent the above-described image quality degradation in an image of an advertisement broadcast for a sponsor of a program and maintain the quality of the image in the advertisement broadcast at a constant level.

[0006]

A first aspect of the present invention is a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast according to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream in which a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement broadcast video signal is encoded in a frame. A first encoding step of compressing and encoding the main program broadcast video signal so that it can be output at the predetermined bit rate, and a main program bit stream by compressing and encoding the main program broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate. Generating a second encoding step, and a compressed bit stream obtained by the compression encoding in the first encoding step. A storage step of storing the advertisement bit stream in the predetermined storage means as an advertisement bit stream, an output step of outputting the advertisement bit stream to the storage means in response to the advertisement selection control signal, and the advertisement bit stream and the main program bit stream. And receive
A signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting one of the received two bit streams according to the advertisement selection control signal.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, all of the video signals for the advertisement broadcast are encoded in advance by the intra-frame coding method and stored as an advertisement bit stream. Inserted into the stream. For this reason, the image quality does not deteriorate due to a scene change due to switching from the main program broadcast to the advertisement broadcast, and a constant image quality is always guaranteed in the advertisement broadcast. Further, since the video signal for the advertisement broadcast is pre-compressed and stored, the processing time for the compression and coding of the video signal for the advertisement broadcast is not particularly limited. Encoding can also be performed by software.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention is to provide a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal to a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method of generating a digital broadcast bit stream in which is inserted so that it can be output at a predetermined bit rate,
A first encoding step of generating an advertisement bit stream by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate; and outputting the main program broadcast video signal at the predetermined bit rate. A second encoding step of generating a main program bitstream by performing compression encoding as possible, a storage step of storing the advertisement bitstream in a predetermined storage means, and the advertisement bitstream in response to the advertisement selection control signal. Receiving the advertisement bit stream output in the output step and the main program bit stream generated in the second encoding step, and By selecting either one according to the advertisement selection control signal, the data A signal switching step of generating a digital broadcast bit stream, wherein the first encoding step comprises occupying a buffer used during decoding when the digital broadcast bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate. A first code amount control step of controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding in the first encoding step so that the amount is equal to or less than a first value that is a predetermined value smaller than the size of the buffer; In the second encoding step, at least immediately before the advertisement bit stream is selected in the signal switching step, when the digital broadcast bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate, the occupancy in the buffer is set to the So that it is equal to or less than a second value which is a value obtained by subtracting the first value from the size of the buffer. It includes a second code amount control step of controlling the amount of generated code by compression encoding in the second encoding step.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the video signal for the advertisement broadcast is a buffer (for example, defined by the MPEG2 standard) used at the time of decoding when a digital broadcast bit stream is output at a predetermined bit rate. VBV
The compression encoding is performed in advance while controlling the generated code amount such that the occupation amount in the buffer (buffer) is equal to or less than the first value, and is stored as an advertisement bit stream. Also, at least in the main program broadcast period immediately before the insertion of the advertisement broadcast, the code of the main program bit stream is set so that the occupancy of the buffer is equal to or smaller than the second value, that is, equal to or smaller than the value obtained by subtracting the first value from the buffer size. The amount is controlled. Therefore, when switching from the main program broadcast to the advertisement broadcast, the buffer does not overflow,
The image quality does not deteriorate due to the scene change. For this reason, the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast can be kept constant. Since the advertisement broadcast video signal is compressed and encoded in advance and stored, it is also possible to perform compression encoding of the advertisement broadcast video signal by software.

[0010] A third aspect of the present invention is to provide a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method of generating a digital broadcast bit stream into which a can be output at a predetermined bit rate,
A first encoding step of generating an advertisement bit stream by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal so that it can be output at the predetermined bit rate; and outputting the main program broadcast video signal at the predetermined bit rate. A second encoding step of generating a main program bitstream by performing compression encoding as possible, receiving the main program bitstream and the advertisement bitstream, and selecting one of the received two bitstreams for the advertisement. A signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting the digital broadcast bit stream according to a control signal. The first encoding step includes outputting the digital broadcast bit stream at the predetermined bit rate. In this case, the buffer occupancy used during decoding A first code amount control step of controlling a code amount generated by the compression encoding in the first encoding step so as to be equal to or less than a first value that is a predetermined value smaller than the size of the The encoding step includes: at least immediately before the advertisement bit stream is selected in the signal switching step, when the digital broadcast bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate, the occupancy of the buffer is the size of the buffer. A second code amount control step of controlling a code amount generated by the compression encoding in the second encoding step so as to be equal to or less than a second value which is a value obtained by subtracting the first value from the second encoding step. .

According to the third aspect of the invention, the video signal for the advertisement broadcast is a buffer (for example, defined by the MPEG2 standard) used at the time of decoding when the digital broadcast bit stream is output at a predetermined bit rate. VBV
The compression encoding is performed while controlling the generated code amount so that the occupation amount in the buffer is equal to or less than the first value. Also, at least during the main program broadcast period immediately before the insertion of the advertisement broadcast,
The code amount of the main bitstream is controlled such that the occupation amount of the buffer is equal to or less than a second value, that is, equal to or less than a value obtained by subtracting the first value from the buffer size. Therefore, when the broadcast is switched from the main program broadcast to the advertisement broadcast, no overflow occurs in the buffer and the image quality does not deteriorate due to the scene change. For this reason, the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast can be kept constant.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is converted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method of generating a digital broadcast bit stream into which a can be output at a predetermined bit rate,
Receiving the video signal for the main program and the advertisement broadcast,
By selecting one of the received two video signals according to the advertisement selection control signal, a video signal in which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the main program broadcast video signal is generated as a broadcast video signal. Generating the digital broadcast bit stream by compressing and encoding the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast video signals included in the broadcast video signal based on the advertisement selection control signal. Encoding step, wherein the encoding step is used at the time of compression encoding of the advertisement broadcast video signal when decoding when the digital broadcast bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate. The occupation amount of the buffer to be processed is equal to or less than a first value smaller than the size of the buffer by a predetermined amount. The amount of generated code by compression encoding is controlled, and at the time of compression encoding of the main program broadcast video signal, at least immediately before the advertisement broadcast video signal is selected in the signal switching step, the digital broadcast A code amount control step of controlling a code amount generated by the compression encoding so that an occupation amount in the buffer is equal to or smaller than a size of the buffer when a bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate.

According to the fourth aspect, the buffer occupancy (buffer size) allowed during the advertisement broadcast period
Is larger by a predetermined amount than the first value, which is the buffer occupancy allowed during the main program broadcast period, to prevent image quality deterioration due to a scene change due to switching from the main program broadcast to the advertisement broadcast, It is possible to improve the quality of video in advertisement broadcasting.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the second to fourth aspects, the buffer whose occupancy is referred to in the code amount control step is a VBV buffer defined in the MPEG standard. I do.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is to provide a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast in accordance with an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream into which a signal can be output at a predetermined bit rate,
An adding step of adding a video signal of a predetermined number of still images immediately before the video signal of the advertisement broadcast, and the advertisement video signal to which the video signal of the still image is added can be output at the predetermined bit rate A first encoding step of generating an advertisement bitstream by compression-encoding the advertisement bitstream, a storage step of storing the advertisement bitstream in predetermined storage means, and a step of storing the advertisement bitstream in response to the advertisement selection control signal. An output step of causing the storage means to output, and receiving the advertisement bit stream and the compressed bit stream of the main program broadcast video signal output in the output step, and selecting one of the received two bit streams for the advertisement. By selecting according to the control signal, the digital broadcast bit stream is generated. Comprising a signal switching step.

According to the sixth aspect, in the digital broadcast bit stream, a bit stream (still image bit) obtained by compression encoding of a still image signal immediately before a compressed bit stream corresponding to an advertisement broadcast video signal. Stream) is added, when the main program broadcast period is switched to the advertisement broadcast period, the occupancy in the buffer is reduced to a sufficiently low value, and after the still image bit stream, the advertisement broadcast video signal is A compressed bit stream appears. Therefore, the buffer does not overflow during the advertisement broadcast period, even if the quantization step size is not particularly reduced when encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to transmit a digital broadcast bit stream at a predetermined bit rate and reliably decode the digital broadcast bit stream, while maintaining a constant video quality in an advertisement broadcast.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is converted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream into which a signal can be output at a predetermined bit rate,
An adding step of adding a video signal of a predetermined number of still images immediately before the advertisement broadcast video signal, and the advertisement broadcast video signal to which the still image video signal is added and the main program broadcast video signal; And by selecting one of the received two video signals in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal, the advertisement broadcast video signal including the still image video signal becomes the main program broadcast video signal. A signal switching step of generating the inserted video signal as a broadcast video signal; and an encoding step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by compressively encoding the broadcast video signal so that the broadcast video signal can be output at the predetermined bit rate. , Is provided.

According to the seventh aspect, as in the sixth aspect, the still picture bit stream is added immediately before the compressed bit stream corresponding to the advertisement broadcast video signal in the digital broadcast bit stream. , When the program switches from the main broadcast period to the advertising broadcast period,
The occupancy in the buffer drops to a sufficiently low value.
For this reason, even if the quantization step size is not particularly reduced when encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal, no buffer overflow occurs during the advertisement broadcast period. That is,
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the quality of the video in an advertisement broadcast can be kept constant, so that a digital broadcast bit stream is transmitted at a predetermined bit rate and can be reliably decoded.

According to an eighth invention, a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is converted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream into which a signal can be output at a predetermined bit rate,
A first encoding step of compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal so that it can be output at a bit rate lower than the predetermined bit rate by a predetermined rate value, and a compression encoding in the first encoding step. An additional step of adding a stuffing bit, which is an amount of invalid information corresponding to the predetermined rate value, immediately before the compressed bit stream.
A storage step of storing the compressed bit stream to which the stuffing bits have been added in a predetermined storage unit as an advertisement bit stream, and an output step of outputting the advertisement bit stream to the storage unit in response to the advertisement selection control signal. Receiving the advertisement bit stream output in the output step and the compressed bit stream of the main program broadcast video signal, and selecting one of the received bit streams in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal. And a signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream.

According to the eighth aspect, the stuffing bits, which are invalid information, are added to the digital broadcast bit stream immediately before the compressed bit stream corresponding to the advertisement broadcast video signal. When switching from the broadcast period to the advertisement broadcast period, the occupancy in the buffer decreases to a sufficiently low value, and the compressed bit stream of the video signal for advertisement broadcast appears after the stuffing bit. Therefore, the buffer does not overflow during the advertisement broadcast period, even if the quantization step size is not particularly reduced when encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to transmit a digital broadcast bit stream at a predetermined bit rate and reliably decode the digital broadcast bit stream, while maintaining a constant video quality in an advertisement broadcast.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is converted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream into which a signal can be output at a predetermined bit rate,
A first encoding step of generating an advertisement bit stream by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal at a bit rate lower than the predetermined bit rate by a predetermined rate value; A storage step of storing in a predetermined storage means, an output step of outputting the advertisement bit stream to the storage means in response to the advertisement selection control signal, and the output of the storage means based on the advertisement selection control signal. An adding step of adding a stuffing bit, which is an amount of invalid information corresponding to the predetermined rate value, immediately before an advertising bit stream; and the advertising bit stream to which the stuffing bit is added in the adding step and the main program broadcast Receiving the compressed bit stream of the video signal for
A signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting one of the received two bit streams according to the advertisement selection control signal.

According to the ninth aspect, similar to the eighth aspect, in the digital broadcast bit stream, a stuffing bit stream which is invalid information is provided immediately before a compressed bit stream corresponding to an advertisement broadcast video signal. Is added, the buffer does not overflow during the advertisement broadcast period even if the quantization step size is not particularly coarsed when encoding the video signal for the advertisement broadcast.
Therefore, the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast can be kept constant while the digital broadcast bit stream is transmitted at a predetermined bit rate and can be reliably decoded.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is converted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream into which is inserted at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement broadcast video signal is compression-encoded so as to be output at a first bit rate. A first encoding step of generating an advertisement bit stream according to a first encoding step; and a second encoding step of generating a main program bit stream by compression encoding the video signal for the main program broadcast so as to be output at a second bit rate. Receiving the main program bit stream and the advertisement bit stream, and receiving both bit streams A signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting any one of them according to the advertisement selection control signal, wherein the first bit rate is a predetermined rate value higher than the second bit rate. And the first and second
A code amount control step of controlling a code amount generated by compression encoding in each of the encoding steps.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is converted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. Is an advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream into which a signal can be output at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the main program and the advertisement broadcast video signals are received, and of the received video signals, A signal switching step of generating, as a broadcast video signal, a video signal in which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the main program broadcast video signal by selecting any of the broadcast signals in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal; Encoding step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by compression encoding a video signal, The encoding step includes the step of changing the bit rate of the compressed bit stream corresponding to the video signal for the advertisement broadcast out of the compressed bit stream in the bit stream for the digital broadcast to the bit rate of the compressed bit stream corresponding to the video signal for the main program broadcast. And a code amount control step of controlling a code amount generated by the compression coding in the coding step so as to be higher than the predetermined rate value by a predetermined rate value.

According to the tenth or eleventh aspect,
Since the amount of code generated by compression encoding is controlled such that the bit rate during the advertisement broadcast period is higher than the bit rate during the main program broadcast period, the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast can be improved.

A twelfth invention is a channel code amount control method for controlling the allocation of bit rates to a plurality of channels of digital broadcasting included in one transponder, wherein the allocation of bit rates to the plurality of channels is controlled. A time table storing step of externally receiving information indicating a time table described in association with time and storing the information in a predetermined storage unit, such that a bit rate is assigned to the plurality of channels according to the time table, A code amount control step of controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding for generating a compressed bit stream broadcast on each of the plurality of channels based on the time table, wherein the time table includes: Of the channels that are being ad-broadcasted out of other channels Wherein the allocation of the bit rate as large bit rate is allocated is described.

According to a thirteenth aspect, in the twelfth aspect,
In the time table, a program table indicating a schedule of each program including an advertisement broadcast for the plurality of channels and a priority order for each program are described such that the highest priority is set for the advertisement broadcast, In the code amount control step, the generated code amount is controlled such that a higher bit rate is assigned as the priority is higher.

According to a fourteenth aspect, in the thirteenth aspect,
The time table describes a program guide in which at most one of the plurality of channels is being broadcast by advertisement at each time.

According to the twelfth to fourteenth aspects,
Among the plurality of channels in one transponder, the channel on which the advertisement broadcast is performed is assigned a higher bit rate than the other channels. Can be held. According to the fourteenth aspect, among the channels in one transponder, only one channel is being advertised and broadcast, so that only one channel increases the bit rate at each time. Therefore, when the bit rate increases during the advertisement broadcast period for a certain channel, the amount of decrease in the bit rate for another channel is relatively small.

According to a fifteenth aspect, a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is converted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream into which is inserted at a predetermined bit rate and that outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. Storage means for storing a compressed bit stream obtained by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate by an intra-frame encoding method, as the advertisement bit stream in advance. The advertisement bit stream according to the advertisement selection control signal. A storage control means for outputting to the means,
Is provided. The advertisement bitstream output device according to the fifteenth invention can be used for implementing the advertisement broadcast insertion method according to the first invention.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is converted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream into which is inserted at a predetermined bit rate and that outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. Storage means for storing a compressed bit stream obtained by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal as the advertisement bit stream in advance, and storing the advertisement bit stream in response to the advertisement selection control signal. Storage means for outputting to the storage means; Controlling the generated code amount such that when the advertisement bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate, the occupation amount in a buffer used at the time of decoding is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value smaller than the size of the buffer. In addition, the present invention is characterized by being obtained by compression-encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal.

According to a seventeenth aspect, in the sixteenth aspect,
Encoding means for generating the advertisement bit stream by compression-encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal, wherein the encoding means decodes when the advertisement bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate. Code amount control means for controlling the amount of code generated by the compression encoding of the encoding means so that the occupation amount in the buffer used at the time of encoding is equal to or less than a predetermined value smaller than the size of the buffer. I do.

The advertisement bit stream output device according to the sixteenth and seventeenth inventions can be used for implementing the advertisement broadcast insertion method according to the second invention.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is converted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device for outputting an advertisement bit stream which is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal, which is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream into which is inserted at a predetermined bit rate. Encoding means for generating the advertisement bit stream by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate; and outputting the advertisement bit stream at the predetermined bit rate. In this case, the occupancy of the buffer used at the time of decoding is As a small predetermined value or less than the size, and a code amount control means for controlling the amount of generated code by the compression encoding of the encoding means. The eighteenth
The advertisement bit stream output apparatus according to the invention of the third aspect can be used for implementing the advertisement broadcast insertion method according to the third aspect.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is converted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device for outputting an advertisement bit stream which is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal, which is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream into which is inserted at a predetermined bit rate. A compressed bit stream obtained by compression-encoding a video signal to which a video signal of a predetermined number of still images is added immediately before the advertising broadcast video signal so that the video signal can be output at the predetermined bit rate, A storage means for storing in advance as an advertisement bit stream, And a storage control unit configured to output the advertisement bitstream in the storage means.

According to a twentieth aspect, in the nineteenth aspect,
Adding means for adding the video signal of the still image immediately before the video signal for advertisement broadcast, and a compression code for outputting the video signal for advertisement broadcast to which the video signal of the still image is added at the predetermined bit rate Encoding means for generating the advertisement bit stream by converting the content into an advertisement bit stream.

The advertisement bit stream output device according to the nineteenth and twentieth inventions can be used for implementing the advertisement broadcast insertion method according to the sixth invention.

According to a twenty-first aspect, a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is converted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream into which is inserted at a predetermined bit rate and that outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. In this case, immediately before a compressed bit stream obtained by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal at a bit rate lower than the predetermined bit rate by a predetermined rate value, an amount corresponding to the predetermined rate value is obtained. A compressed bit stream to which stuffing bits that are invalid information are added Comprises a pre-stored to have storage means as Tsu DOO stream, and a storage control unit configured to output the advertisement bitstream in the storage means in response to the ad selection control signal.

According to a twenty-second invention, in the twenty-first invention,
Encoding means for compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal at a bit rate lower than the predetermined bit rate by a predetermined rate value; and a compression bit stream generated by compression encoding of the encoding means. An adding unit that generates the advertisement bit stream by adding the stuffing bit immediately before.

The advertisement bit stream output device according to the twenty-first and twenty-second inventions can be used for implementing the advertisement broadcast insertion method according to the eighth invention.

According to a twenty-third aspect, a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is converted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device for outputting an advertisement bit stream which is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal, which is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream into which is inserted at a predetermined bit rate. Storage means for storing in advance a compressed bit stream obtained by performing compression encoding so that output can be performed at a bit rate lower by a predetermined rate value than the predetermined bit rate; and Outputting a compressed bit stream to the storage means in response to the advertisement selection control signal. A storage control unit, based on the advertisement selection control signal, by adding a stuffing bit, which is invalid information of an amount corresponding to the predetermined rate value, immediately before the compressed bit stream output from the storage unit, Invalid information adding means for generating an advertisement bit stream. The advertisement bitstream output device according to the twenty-third invention can be used for implementing the advertisement broadcast insertion method according to the ninth invention.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect, a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is converted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. Is an advertisement broadcast insertion device that generates a digital broadcast bit stream into which a video signal is inserted at a predetermined bit rate, and compression-codes the main program broadcast video signal so that the video signal can be output at the predetermined bit rate. Encoding means for generating a main program bitstream by compression, a storage means for previously storing a compressed bitstream obtained by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal as an advertisement bitstream, and the advertisement selection control Storage control means for outputting the advertisement bit stream to the storage means in response to a signal; Receiving the main program bitstream generated by the encoding unit and the advertisement bitstream output from the storage unit, and selecting one of the received two bitstreams according to the advertisement selection control signal. Signal switching means for generating the digital broadcast bit stream, wherein the advertisement bit stream is occupied by a buffer used for decoding when the advertisement bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate. Is compression-encoded while controlling the amount of generated code so as to be equal to or less than a first value that is a predetermined value smaller than the size of the buffer, and the encoding unit performs at least, based on the advertisement selection control signal, Immediately before the advertisement bit stream is selected by the signal switching means, The code is set so that the occupation amount in the buffer is equal to or less than a second value that is a value obtained by subtracting the first value from the size of the buffer when the set main part bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate. Code amount control means for controlling the generated code amount by the compression coding of the coding means.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect, a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is converted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion device that generates a digital broadcast bit stream into which is inserted, so that the digital broadcast bit stream can be output at a predetermined bit rate, and an addition unit that adds the video signal of the still image immediately before the advertisement broadcast video signal. By compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal to which the still image video signal is added so that the advertisement broadcast video signal can be output at the predetermined bit rate, the advertisement broadcast video signal forming the digital broadcast bit stream is Encoding means for generating a compressed bit stream.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect, a compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is converted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion device that generates a digital broadcast bit stream into which a video signal is inserted at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement broadcast video signal is compression-encoded to be output at a first bit rate. A first encoding unit for generating an advertisement bit stream according to a second program, and a second encoding unit for generating a main program bit stream by compression-encoding the video signal for the main program broadcast so as to be output at a second bit rate.
Encoding means for receiving the main program bit stream and the advertisement bit stream, and selecting one of the received two bit streams in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal to convert the digital broadcast bit stream A signal switching means for generating, and a code generated by compression encoding by each of the first and second encoding means so that the first bit rate is higher than the second bit rate by a predetermined rate value. Code amount control means for controlling the amount.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect, a compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is converted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion device that generates a digital broadcast bit stream in which is inserted so that it can be output at a predetermined bit rate, and receives the main program video signal and the advertisement broadcast video signal. A signal switching unit for generating, as a broadcast video signal, a video signal in which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the main program broadcast video signal by selecting any one of the broadcast signals in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal; Encoding means for generating the digital broadcast bit stream by compressing and encoding a video signal; The bit rate of the compressed bit stream corresponding to the video signal for the advertisement broadcast in the compressed bit stream in the bit stream for the digital broadcast is more predetermined than the bit rate of the compressed bit stream corresponding to the video signal for the main program broadcast. A code amount control means for controlling a code amount generated by the compression encoding by the encoding means so as to increase by a rate value is included.

A twenty-eighth invention is a channel code amount control device for controlling allocation of bit rates to a plurality of channels of digital broadcasting included in one transponder, wherein the allocation of bit rates to the plurality of channels is controlled. Time table storage means for storing a time table described in association with time, and the plurality of channels based on the time table such that bit rates are assigned to the plurality of channels according to the time table. Code amount control means for controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding for generating a compressed bit stream broadcasted by each of the plurality of channels, wherein the time table includes an advertisement broadcast out of the plurality of channels. The channel is assigned a higher bit rate than the other channels. Wherein the allocation of the Bit Rate is described.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect, in the twenty-eighth aspect,
In the time table, a program table including an advertisement broadcast schedule for the plurality of channels and a priority order for each program are described such that the highest priority is set for the advertisement broadcast, and the code amount control is performed. The means is characterized in that the generated code amount is controlled such that a higher bit rate is assigned as the priority is higher.

According to a thirtieth aspect, in the twenty-ninth aspect,
The time table describes a program guide in which at most one of the plurality of channels is being broadcast by advertisement at each time.

[0049]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
This advertisement broadcast insertion device includes a main broadcast VTR 120,
Main broadcast encoder 122 and advertisement broadcast VTR 110
An advertisement broadcast server 160, a signal switch 150,
An advertisement insertion control unit 152 is provided to generate a digital broadcast bit stream Sca, which is a compressed bit stream of a video signal in which an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a main program video signal, as described below.

In the above-described advertisement broadcast insertion device, the advertisement control insertion unit 152 performs the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast based on a predetermined program table indicating the schedule (including the advertisement broadcast schedule) of each program to be broadcast. An advertisement selection control signal Ccm indicating the timing of switching between the two is generated and supplied to the signal switch 150 and the like.

The main broadcast VTR 120 reproduces the digital video signal of the main program broadcast recorded on the video tape mounted therein at the timing based on the program table, and outputs it as the main video signal S2. The main video signal S2 is input to the main broadcast encoder 122. The main broadcast encoder 122, as shown in FIG.
It includes a code amount control unit 142 and an encoding unit 144.
The encoding section 144 compression-codes the main video signal S2 input from the main broadcast VTR 120, and outputs it as a compressed bit stream for program main broadcast (hereinafter, referred to as “main bit stream”) Sc2. The code amount generated by this coding is controlled by the quantization control signal C2 output from the code amount control unit 142.

On the other hand, the advertisement broadcast VTR 110 reproduces an advertisement broadcast digital video signal recorded on a video tape mounted therein and outputs it as an advertisement video signal S1. The advertisement video signal S1 is input to the advertisement broadcast server 160. The advertisement broadcasting server 160 is the same as that shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), an encoder 162 for advertisement broadcast, a bit stream storage unit 164, and a storage control unit 166 are included. The advertisement broadcast encoder 162 is used for an advertisement broadcast VTR.
The advertisement video signal S1 input from 110 is compression-encoded. At this time, in the present embodiment, the entire advertisement video signal S1 is compression-encoded by the intra-frame encoding method, and is output as a compressed bit stream for advertisement broadcast (hereinafter, referred to as “advertisement bit stream”) Sc1. This advertisement bit stream Sc1 is stored in the bit stream storage unit 164 under the control of the storage control unit 166. The advertisement bit stream Sc1 stored in the bit stream storage unit 164 in this manner is output from the advertisement broadcast server 160 based on the storage control signal Cm supplied from the storage control unit 166. At this time, the storage control unit 166 generates a storage control signal Cm based on the advertisement selection control signal Ccm supplied from the advertisement insertion control unit 152, and reads out the advertisement bit stream Sc1 from the bit stream storage unit 164 during the advertisement broadcast period.

As described above, the main broadcast encoder 12
2 and the advertisement bit stream S2 output from the advertisement broadcast server 160.
c1 is input to the signal switch 150. Signal switch 1
50 selects any one of the main bit stream Sc2 and the advertisement bit stream Sc1 in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal Ccm supplied from the advertisement insertion control unit 152, and converts the selected compressed bit stream into a digital signal. Output as a broadcast bit stream Sca.
That is, when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at a low level (L level), the main program bit stream Sc2 is output. When the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at a high level (H level), the advertisement bit stream Sc1 is output. Output as Sca. The digital broadcast bit stream Sca in which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the main program broadcast video signal in this way is transmitted as radio waves through processing (not shown) such as multiplexing and digital modulation. .

The digital broadcast bit stream Sca into which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted as described above.
It is necessary to control the amount of codes generated by encoding so that is transmitted at a predetermined bit rate and can be reliably decoded.
For this reason, the generated code amount is controlled by control such as quantization so that underflow and overflow do not occur in the buffer that stores the code amount generated by encoding. Specifically, considering the code amount of the above-described advertisement bit stream that has been intra-coded, the code amount is set so that the occupation amount in the buffer becomes a predetermined value or less at least immediately before the insertion of the advertisement broadcast. Control unit 142
Controls the amount of code generated by encoding the main video signal S2. The details of this control operation and the configuration therefor are the same as in the second embodiment described later (see FIGS. 2 to 5).

According to the above-described embodiment, all the video signals for the advertisement broadcast are coded in advance by the intra-frame coding method, and are stored as the advertisement bit stream Sc1.
This advertisement bit stream Sc1 is inserted into the main part bit stream during the advertisement broadcast period. For this reason, the image quality does not deteriorate due to a scene change due to switching from the main program broadcast to the advertisement broadcast, and a constant image quality is always guaranteed in the advertisement broadcast. Also, as described above, the video signal for the advertisement broadcast is compressed and encoded in advance and stored,
The compression encoding of the advertisement broadcast video signal may be performed by software without preparing specific hardware.

<Second Embodiment> Next, an advertisement broadcast insertion apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the advertisement broadcast insertion device of the present embodiment is basically the same as the configuration of the advertisement broadcast insertion device of the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, in the present embodiment, the advertisement broadcast encoder 162 in the advertisement broadcast server 160 compresses and encodes the advertisement video signal S1 by an encoding method involving inter-frame encoding. This is different from the first embodiment in which all encoding is performed by the intra-frame encoding method. In the following, among components in the present embodiment, components having corresponding components in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and components performing the same operation as the corresponding components are described in detail. Description is omitted. Note that the advertisement insertion control unit 152 in the present embodiment
Generates an advertisement selection control signal Ccm based on a predetermined program table, as in the case of the first embodiment.
2 has the configuration shown in FIG. 2B,
A code amount control switching signal Ccm2 as shown in (b) is generated according to the advertisement selection control signal Ccm (details will be described later).

In the compression encoding of a video signal in digital broadcasting, as described above, in order to transmit a digital broadcasting bit stream at a predetermined bit rate and to be able to reliably decode the bit stream, generation by the encoding is performed. The code amount is controlled. That is, the generated code amount is controlled by control such as quantization so that underflow and overflow do not occur in the buffer that stores the code amount generated by encoding. By the way, compression encoding of video signals in digital broadcasting is generally performed by MPEG1 or MPE.
An encoding method (an encoding method involving inter-frame encoding) defined by the MPEG standard such as G2 is used. For example, in the MPEG2 standard, a virtual buffer verifier (V) as a virtual decoder conceptually connected to the output of an encoder
The concept of BV (Video Buffering Verfier) is introduced, and the encoder uses bits so that the input buffer (called “VBV buffer”), ie, the buffer used on the decoder side, does not cause underflow or overflow. It is stipulated that a stream must be output. Hereinafter, the compression encoding in the present embodiment is performed by MPE
As the one based on the encoding system defined in the G2 standard,
The operation for inserting the advertisement broadcast video signal in the advertisement broadcast insertion device will be described in detail.

Advertisement broadcast encoder 1 in this embodiment
62 and the main program encoder 122 are based on the Annex of ISO / IEC 13818-2 which is the MPEG2 standard.
The configuration is such that the amount of code generated by encoding can be controlled so as to satisfy the rule in C. That is, in these encoders, the above V
The occupation amount (permissible value) of the BV buffer is set in advance, and the quantization step size is controlled such that the generated code amount is within the range of the occupation amount (permissible value). Specifically, when the size of the VBV buffer is A, A =
The occupancies B and C of the VBV buffer satisfying B + C are determined in advance, and the occupancy B is determined by the main broadcast encoder 122.
Then, the occupation amount C is assigned to each of the advertisement broadcast encoders 162. Based on this allocation, the advertisement broadcast encoder 162 controls the amount of code generated by encoding such that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to C as shown in FIG. As a result, the bitstream storage unit 164 stores the advertisement bitstream Sc1 obtained by encoding under such code amount control. On the other hand, the main broadcast encoder 122 controls the amount of codes generated by encoding so that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to B.

By the code amount control as described above, the period in which the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the L level and the main bit stream Sc2 is output from the signal switch 150 as the digital broadcast bit stream Sca, ie, the main program broadcast period Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the occupation amount in the VBV buffer ranges from 0 to B. Thereafter, when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm changes from the L level to the H level at the time tc, the storage control unit 166 reads the advertisement bit stream Sc1 from the bit stream storage unit 164, and the advertisement bit stream Sc1 is converted to a digital broadcast. Is output from the signal switch 150 as the use bit stream Sca. As described above, this advertising bitstream S
c1 is encoded while controlling the generated code amount such that the occupation amount of the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to C.
Therefore, during the period when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the H level, that is, during the advertisement broadcast period, the occupation amount of the VBV buffer tends to increase.
Never exceed C.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of the code amount control unit 142 in the main program encoder 122 in the case where the generated code amount by encoding is controlled as described above. . The code amount control unit 142 has a buffer occupancy setting register 180 and a quantization control unit 186, and B is set in the register 180 as a value indicating the occupancy in the VBV buffer. Quantization controller 18
6 is a quantization control signal C for controlling the quantization step size in accordance with the value B set in the register 180.
2 is generated and supplied to the encoding unit 144 to control the generated code amount by encoding so that the occupation amount of the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to B. The same applies to the code amount control in the advertisement broadcast encoder 162. A buffer occupancy setting register is provided in the advertisement broadcast encoder 162, and the register has C as a value indicating the occupancy in the VBV buffer. The generated code amount is controlled by controlling the quantization step size based on the value C.

With such code amount control, the occupancy of the VBV buffer in the main program broadcast period (Ccm = “L” period) ranges from 0 to B, and the advertisement broadcast period (Ccm
== “H”), the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to B + C, and does not exceed the size A = B + C of the VBV buffer.

In the code amount control described above, the generated code amount is controlled such that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is always in the range of 0 to B during the main program broadcast period. However, the occupation amount in the VBV buffer does not always have to be in the range of 0 to B during the main program broadcasting period, and the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is 0 at least immediately before the advertisement broadcasting period, that is, immediately before time tc which is the advertisement switching point. It is sufficient that the code amount is controlled so as to be in the range of B to B. FIG. 2 (b)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a code amount control unit 142 in the main program encoder 122 when such code amount control is performed. In the case of this configuration, the code amount control unit 142 includes the first register 181 and the second register 1
82, two buffer occupancy setting registers 82, a changeover switch 184, and a quantization controller 186. The first and second registers 181 and 182 have VB
A and C are set as values indicating the occupancy of the V buffer. In addition, in the case of this configuration, as shown in FIG. 5B, the advertisement insertion control unit 152 performs the code amount control switching that changes from the L level to the H level a predetermined period before the time tc of the advertisement broadcast switching point. A signal Ccm2 is generated, and this signal is supplied to the changeover switch 184 in the code amount control unit 142.
To supply. The changeover switch 184 sets the value A set in the first register 181 when the code amount control switch signal Ccm2 is at the L level, and the value A set in the second register 182 when the code amount control switch signal Ccm2 is at the H level. B are input to the quantization control unit 186, respectively. The quantization control unit 186 generates a quantization control signal C2 for controlling the quantization step size according to the value input from the changeover switch 184, and supplies this to the encoding unit 144. As shown in FIG. 5A, the code amount control switching signal Ccm
When 2 is at the L level, the generated code amount is controlled so that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to A.
When the code amount control switching signal Ccm2 changes from the L level to the H level, the generated code amount is controlled so that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to B, and the occupation in the VBV buffer immediately before the insertion of the advertisement broadcast. The amount becomes B or less.

As described above, even when the code amount is controlled by the configuration shown in FIG.
The occupation amount in the VBV buffer during the “H” period)
In the range of 0 to B + C, the size of the VBV buffer A =
It does not exceed B + C.

According to the present embodiment as described above, while controlling the quantization step size, the advertisement broadcast video signal is controlled so that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer specified by the MPEG2 standard is in the range of 0 to C. It is compression-coded in advance and stored as an advertisement bit stream Sc1. Also,
At least during the main program broadcast period immediately before the insertion of the advertisement broadcast, the code amount of the main program bit stream Sc2 is controlled such that the occupancy of the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to B (FIG. 4).
(A) and FIG. 5 (a)). Therefore, when switching from the main program broadcast to the advertisement broadcast, no overflow occurs in the VBV buffer, and the image quality does not deteriorate due to the scene change. For this reason, the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast can be kept constant.

In the above embodiment, the advertisement broadcast video signal is compressed and coded in advance, and once stored in the bit stream storage unit 164 as the advertisement bit stream Sc1, the advertisement bit stream Sc1 is inserted when the advertisement broadcast is inserted. It is read from the bit stream storage unit 164. Therefore, there is no particular limitation on the processing time of the compression encoding of the advertisement broadcast video signal, and the compression encoding of the advertisement broadcast video signal may be performed by software without preparing specific hardware.

<Third Embodiment> FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram showing the composition of the advertising broadcast insertion device concerning an embodiment. This advertisement broadcast insertion device is similar to the advertisement broadcast server 16 in the advertisement broadcast insertion device according to the second embodiment.
In place of 0, an advertising broadcast encoder 112 is provided,
Other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment, and the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals. The advertisement broadcast VTR 110 according to the present embodiment is a digital video for an advertisement broadcast recorded on a video tape mounted therein during the advertisement broadcast period based on the above-mentioned program table (schedule of each program including the advertisement broadcast). The signal is reproduced and output as the advertisement video signal S1. The advertisement broadcast encoder 112 in the present embodiment includes a code amount control unit 132
And an encoder 134. The encoding unit 134 compresses and encodes the advertisement video signal S1 reproduced by the advertisement broadcast VTR 110 during the advertisement broadcast period, and inputs the resultant to the signal switch 150 as an advertisement bit stream Sc1. That is, unlike the case of the second embodiment, the advertisement bit stream Sc1 is generated by real-time compression encoding during the advertisement broadcast period and is input to the signal switch 150 without being stored. On the other hand, the main program bit stream Sc2
Are generated in the same manner as in the second embodiment and input to the signal switch 150. As in the second embodiment, the signal switch 150 selects one of the main bit stream Sc2 and the advertisement bit stream Sc1 in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal Ccm, and selects the selected compressed bit stream. As a digital broadcast bit stream Scb. The digital broadcast bit stream Scb is transmitted as a radio wave through processes (not shown) such as multiplexing and digital modulation.

Also in the present embodiment, a digital broadcast bit stream Scb into which a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted.
Is transmitted at a predetermined bit rate so that decoding can be performed with certainty. That is, as shown in FIG. 7A, the code amount control unit 132 in the advertisement broadcast encoder 112 has a buffer occupancy setting register 171 and a quantization control unit 176, and the register 171 has a VBV C is set as a value indicating the occupancy in the buffer.
The quantization control unit 176 generates a quantization control signal C1 for controlling the quantization step size in accordance with the value C set in the register 171 and supplies the generated quantization control signal C1 to the encoding unit 134, so that the VBV Buffer occupancy is 0-C
Is controlled so that the generated code amount is within the range of. On the other hand, as in the second embodiment, the code amount control unit 142 in the main broadcast
By supplying the quantization control signal C2 to the encoding unit 134, the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to B immediately before the insertion of the advertisement broadcast by having the configuration shown in FIG. (See FIG. 5). By controlling the amount of code generated by the encoding of the advertising video signal S1 and the encoding of the main video signal S2 as described above, the occupation amount in the VBV buffer during the advertising broadcasting period (Ccm = “H” period) It does not exceed the size A = B + C of the VBV buffer in the range of 0 to B + C.

According to the above-described embodiment, the advertisement video signal S1 is transmitted while controlling the quantization step size such that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer defined by the MPEG2 standard is in the range of 0 to C. Broadcast encoder 112
Is encoded. The main video signal S2 is encoded for main broadcast while controlling the quantization step size so that the occupancy of the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to B at least in the main broadcast period of the program immediately before the insertion of the advertisement broadcast. Encoded in the unit 122. Therefore, when switching from the main program broadcast to the advertisement broadcast, no overflow occurs in the VBV buffer, and the image quality does not deteriorate due to the scene change. For this reason, the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast can be kept constant.

<Fourth Embodiment> FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram showing the composition of the advertising broadcast insertion device concerning an embodiment. This advertisement broadcast insertion device is a VT for main broadcast.
R120, advertising broadcast VTR 110, signal switch 1
50, the advertisement insertion control unit 152b, and the broadcast encoder 1
90 to generate a digital broadcast bit stream Scc, which is a compressed bit stream of a video signal in which an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a main program video signal, as described below. Note that the same components as those in the third embodiment among the components in this embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the above-mentioned advertisement broadcast inserting apparatus, the signal switch 150 supplies the main video signal which is a digital video signal for the main program broadcast reproduced by the main program VTR 120 during the main program broadcast period based on the program table described above. S2,
VTR for advertisement broadcasting during the advertisement broadcasting period based on the above program table
An advertisement video signal S1 which is a digital video signal for an advertisement broadcast reproduced by 110 is input. Signal switch 1
50 selects one of the main video signal S2 and the advertisement video signal S1 in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal Ccm supplied from the advertisement insertion control unit 152b, and converts the selected video signal into the digital broadcast video signal Scm. Output as That is, when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the L level, the main video signal S2 is output as the digital broadcast video signal S when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the H level. The digital broadcast video signal S is input to the broadcast encoder 190. The broadcast encoder 190 includes:
As shown in FIG. 8, the code amount control unit 192 and the encoding unit 19
4 is included. The encoding unit 194 includes the signal switch 15
The digital broadcast video signal S output from 0 is compression-encoded and output as a broadcast bit stream Scc. The code amount generated by the compression coding is controlled by the quantization control signal C output from the code amount control unit 192.

FIG. 9A is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the code amount control section 192. Code amount control unit 192
Are the first register 201 and the second register 202
Buffer occupancy setting registers and a changeover switch 20
4 and a quantization control unit 206. In the first and second registers 201 and 202, B and A = B + C are set as values indicating the occupancy in the VBV buffer. The changeover switch 204 receives the advertisement selection control signal Ccm as shown in FIG. 9B generated by the advertisement insertion control unit 152b, and as shown in FIG. 9C, the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the L level. Sometimes the first
The value B set in the register 201 and the value A set in the second register 202 are input to the quantization control unit 206 when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the H level. The quantization control unit 206 generates a quantization control signal C for controlling the quantization step size in accordance with the value input from the changeover switch 204, and outputs this to the encoding unit 1
94. As a result, during the main program broadcast period, V
The generated code amount is controlled so that the occupation amount in the BV buffer is in the range of 0 to B, and the generated code amount is controlled such that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is in the range of 0 to A during the advertisement broadcast period.

According to the above-described embodiment, the occupancy A of the VBV buffer allowed during the advertisement broadcast period is larger than the occupancy B of the VBV buffer allowed during the main program broadcast period by the predetermined value C. , The value B (or C) is appropriately set, it is possible to prevent the image quality from being deteriorated due to the scene change due to the switching from the main program broadcast to the advertisement broadcast, and to improve the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast. .

<Fifth Embodiment> FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. This advertisement broadcast insertion device is a VT for main broadcast.
R120, a main broadcast encoder 122, an advertisement VTR 110, an advertisement broadcast server 210, a signal switch 150, and an advertisement insertion control unit 152. Among them, the same components as those in the second embodiment (FIG. 1) are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The advertisement insertion control unit 152 in the present embodiment
Generates an advertisement selection control signal Ccm and supplies it to the signal switch 150 as in the second embodiment. The advertisement selection control Ccm is a signal as shown in FIG. 11A, and is at the L level during the main program broadcast period and at the H level during the advertisement broadcast period. In the advertising broadcast insertion device of the present embodiment, the respective components operate as described below on the basis of the advertisement selection control signal Ccm, so that the video signal for the advertising broadcast is inserted into the video signal of the main program. , A digital broadcast bit stream Scd is generated.

In the above-described advertisement broadcast insertion apparatus, the main program broadcast VTR 120 is used during the main program broadcast period based on the program table.
The main video signal S2 reproduced by the above is input to the main broadcast encoder 122. Main broadcast encoder 122
Is the code amount control unit 142 as in the second embodiment.
And an encoding unit 144. The encoding unit 144 includes:
The main video signal S input from the main broadcast VTR 120
2 is compression-coded and output as a main part bit stream Sc2. However, in the present embodiment, the quantization control unit 142
Is different from the quantization control unit according to the second embodiment in which the generated code amount is controlled so that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is 0 to B, and the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is 0.
To A (A is the size of the VBV buffer).

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned advertisement broadcast insertion device,
The advertisement video signal S1 reproduced by the advertisement broadcast VTR 110 is input to the advertisement broadcast server 210. As shown in FIG. 10, the advertisement broadcast server 210 includes a still image storage unit 214, a changeover switch 216, an advertisement broadcast encoder 212, a bit stream storage unit 164, and a storage control unit 166. I have. The advertisement video signal S1 reproduced by the advertisement broadcast VTR 110 is switched by the changeover switch 216.
Is input to The still image storage unit 214 stores still image data indicating still images of a predetermined number of frames,
This still image data is also input to the changeover switch 216 as a still image signal Ss. The changeover switch 216 selects the advertisement video signal S1 during the period when the advertisement video signal S1 is input from the advertisement broadcast VTR 110, and selects the advertisement broadcast VT.
A predetermined period immediately before the advertisement video signal S1 corresponding to one advertisement broadcast period is output from R110 and a predetermined period immediately after the advertisement video signal S1 is output are input from the still image storage unit 214. Select the still image signal Ss. The signal selected in this way is input to the advertisement broadcast encoder 212. Therefore, the advertisement broadcast encoder 212 has a video signal S1s (hereinafter, referred to as a “still image-added advertisement video signal”) to which a still image signal Ss corresponding to a predetermined number of frames is added before and after each advertisement broadcast video signal S1. Is entered. The advertisement broadcast encoder 212 compresses and encodes the still image-attached advertisement video signal S1s according to an encoding method defined by the MPEG2 standard, and outputs it as a still image-attached advertisement bit stream Sc1s. However, in the present embodiment, the advertisement broadcast encoder 212 performs the encoding while controlling the quantization so that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer becomes 0 to C, and the advertisement broadcast encoder in the second embodiment. Unlike the device, the occupation amount in the VBV buffer is 0 to A
(A is the size of the VBV buffer) and the encoding is performed while controlling the quantization. The advertising bit stream with still image Sc1s obtained by such encoding is:
The data is stored in the bit stream storage unit 164. afterwards,
The advertisement bit stream Sc1s with still image is output from the advertisement broadcasting server 210 based on the storage control signal Cm supplied from the storage control unit 166. At this time, the storage control unit 166 generates a storage control signal Cm based on the advertisement selection control signal Ccm supplied from the advertisement insertion control unit 152, and stores the still image-added bit stream Sc1s during the advertisement broadcast period.
From the bit stream storage unit 164.

As described above, the main broadcast encoder 12
2 and the still image-attached advertisement bitstream Sc1s output from the advertisement broadcasting server 210 are input to the signal switch 150.
The signal switch 150 selects one of the main bitstream Sc2 and the still image-attached advertisement bitstream Sc1s according to the advertisement selection control signal Ccm supplied from the advertisement insertion control unit 152, and converts the selected bitstream. It is output as a digital broadcast bit stream Scd. That is, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the L level, the main part bit stream Sc2 becomes:
When the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the H level, the advertisement bit stream Sc1s with still image is output as the digital broadcast bit stream Scd. The digital broadcast bit stream Scd is transmitted as a radio wave through processes (not shown) such as multiplexing and digital modulation.

According to the present embodiment as described above, in the digital broadcast bit stream Scd, immediately before the advertisement bit stream, a bit stream obtained by compression-encoding the still image signal Ss (hereinafter referred to as “still image bit stream”) Is added, the occupancy in the VBV buffer decreases to a sufficiently low value when the main program broadcast period is switched to the advertisement broadcast period, and after the still image bit stream, the advertisement broadcast video An advertising bitstream corresponding to the signal appears. Therefore,
Even if the quantization step size is not made coarse when encoding the advertisement bit stream, the VB is used during the advertisement broadcast period.
No overflow of the V buffer occurs. That is, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to transmit a digital broadcast bit stream at a predetermined bit rate and reliably decode the digital broadcast bit stream, while maintaining a constant video quality in an advertisement broadcast. Further, in the present embodiment, since the still image bit stream is added immediately after the advertisement bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream Scd, the VBV buffer is also used when switching from the advertisement broadcast period to the main program broadcast period. The occupancy drops to a sufficiently low value. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in image quality in the main program broadcast immediately after switching from the advertisement broadcast period to the main program broadcast period.

In the above embodiment, the still picture bit stream is added before and after the advertisement bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream Scd. , A still image bit stream may be added only immediately before the advertisement bit stream.

<Sixth Embodiment> FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. This advertisement broadcast insertion device is a main broadcast V
TR 120, advertisement VTR 110, still image storage 214, switch 216, signal switch 150
, An advertisement insertion control unit 152c, and a broadcast encoder 190.
And In the following, among the components of the advertisement broadcast insertion device, those having the corresponding components in the fifth embodiment (FIG. 10) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same operations as the corresponding components are performed. A detailed description of those performing the above will be omitted.

[0101] The advertisement insertion control unit 152 in the present embodiment.
c generates a still image addition control signal Csi in addition to the advertisement selection control signal Ccm, and outputs the advertisement selection control signal Ccm to the signal switch 1.
50, the still image addition control signal Csi is set to the changeover switch 216.
Respectively. Here, the advertisement selection control Ccm is
This signal is as shown in FIG. 13 (a), and has an L level during the main program broadcast period and has an H level during the advertisement broadcast period. The still image addition control signal Csi is a signal as shown in FIG. 13 (b), and is a predetermined period immediately after the switching from the main program broadcasting period to the advertising broadcasting period, and switching from the advertising broadcasting period to the main program broadcasting period. Becomes H level only in a predetermined period immediately before the period, and becomes L level in other periods. In the advertisement insertion apparatus according to the present embodiment, the respective units operate as described below based on the control signals Ccm and Csi, so that the broadcast in which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the main program video signal is performed. Video signal Sd is generated,
This is compression-encoded to generate a digital broadcast bit stream Scd.

In the above-mentioned advertisement broadcast inserting apparatus, the main program VTR 1 is used during the main program broadcast period based on the program table.
The main video signal S <b> 2 reproduced by 20 is input to the signal switch 150. On the other hand, the advertisement video signal S1 reproduced by the advertisement broadcast VTR 110 during the advertisement broadcast period based on the aforementioned program table is input to the changeover switch 216.
The changeover switch 216 further includes a still image storage unit 21.
Still image data corresponding to a predetermined number of frames stored in No. 4 is input as a still image signal Ss. The changeover switch 216 receives the input advertisement video signal S1 and still image signal S1.
s is selected and output according to the still image addition control signal Csi. That is, the change-over switch 216 outputs the advertisement image signal Ssi when the still image addition control signal Csi is at the L level.
1 is output from the advertisement broadcast VTR 110, the advertisement video signal S1 is selected (see FIG. 13C). When the still image addition control signal Csi is at the H level, the still image signal Ss is selected, and the selected signal is selected. Is output. This allows
A signal to which a still image signal Ss corresponding to a predetermined number of frames is added before and after each broadcast video signal S1 is output from the changeover switch 216 as a still image-added advertising video signal S1s,
The signal is input to the signal switch 150.

The signal switch 150 receives the advertisement selection control signal C
One of the main video signal S2 and the advertisement video signal with still image S1s is selected in accordance with the cm, and the selected video signal is output as a digital broadcast video signal Sd. That is, as shown in FIG. 13D, when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the L level, the main video signal S2 is output, and when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the H level, the advertisement video signal S1s with still image is output as It is output as a broadcast video signal Sd. The digital broadcast video signal Sd is input to the broadcast encoder 190.

The broadcast encoder 190 includes a code amount controller 192 and an encoder 194, as shown in FIG. The encoding unit 194 compression-encodes the digital broadcast video signal Sd output from the signal switch 150, and outputs the digital broadcast video signal Sd as a digital broadcast bit stream Scd. Since the digital broadcast video signal Sd is configured as shown in FIG.
In cd, an advertisement bit stream obtained by compression-encoding the advertisement video signal S1 is inserted into a main video bit stream obtained by compression-encoding the main video signal S2,
In addition, before and after the advertisement bit stream, the still image signal Ss
Is added to the still image bit stream obtained by the compression encoding. The code amount generated by the compression encoding for generating the digital broadcast bit stream Scd is controlled by the quantization control signal C output from the code amount control unit 192. That is, in order to transmit the digital broadcast bit stream Scd at a predetermined bit rate and to be able to reliably decode it, the MPEG
The generated code amount is controlled so that the occupation amount in the VBV buffer on the decoder side defined by the two standards is in the range of 0 to A (A is the size of the VBV buffer).

According to the present embodiment as described above, as in the fifth embodiment, the still picture bit stream is added immediately before the advertisement bit stream corresponding to the advertisement video signal in the digital broadcast bit stream Scd. Therefore, when switching from the main program broadcast period to the advertisement broadcast period, the occupancy in the VBV buffer decreases to a sufficiently low value, and the advertisement bit stream appears after the still image bit stream. Therefore, the overflow of the VBV buffer does not occur during the advertisement broadcast period even if the quantization step size is not particularly reduced when encoding the advertisement bit stream. That is, according to the present embodiment, the digital broadcast bit stream is transmitted at a predetermined bit rate and can be reliably decoded.
The quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast can be kept constant. Further, in the present embodiment, since the still image bit stream is added immediately after the advertisement bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream Scd, V is also set when switching from the advertisement broadcast period to the main program broadcast period.
The occupancy in the BV buffer drops to a sufficiently low value. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in image quality in the main program broadcast immediately after switching from the advertisement broadcast period to the main program broadcast period.

In the above-described embodiment, the still image bit stream is added before and after the advertisement bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream Scd. However, it is only necessary to consider prevention of video quality deterioration in the advertisement broadcast. , A still image bit stream may be added only immediately before the advertisement bit stream.

<Seventh Embodiment> FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the structure of an advertisement insertion apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. This advertisement broadcast insertion device has the same configuration as that of the advertisement insertion device according to the fifth embodiment (FIG. 10) except for the advertisement broadcast server 220, and the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed description is omitted.

Advertisement broadcast server 22 in the present embodiment
0 is the advertisement broadcast encoder 212 as shown in FIG.
, A stuffing bit generation unit 224, a changeover switch 216, a bit stream storage unit 164, and a storage control unit 166. The advertisement video signal S1 reproduced by the advertisement broadcast VTR 110 is input to the advertisement broadcast encoder 212. The advertisement broadcast encoder 212 compresses and encodes the advertisement video signal S1 according to an encoding method defined by the MPEG2 standard, and outputs an advertisement bit stream Sc1.
Output as At this time, the advertisement broadcast encoder 212
Controls the amount of generated code so that it can be output at a bit rate smaller by a predetermined rate value than a predetermined bit rate of the digital broadcast bit stream Sce in order to add stuffing bits as described later. While compressing and encoding the advertisement video signal S1. This advertisement bit stream Sc1 is input to the changeover switch 216.
The stuffing bit generation unit 224 generates invalid information called stuffing bits by a predetermined number of bits. This stuffing bit
The stuffing bit stream corresponding to the predetermined rate value is input to the changeover switch 216. The changeover switch 216 selects the advertisement bit stream Sc1 during the period in which the advertisement bit stream Sc1 is input from the advertisement broadcast encoder 212, and selects the advertisement broadcast encoder 21.
For a predetermined period immediately before the advertisement bit stream Sc1 corresponding to two to one advertisement broadcast period is output and a predetermined period immediately after the advertisement bit stream is output,
A stuffing bit stream corresponding to the predetermined rate value input from the stuffing bit generation unit 224 is selected. The bit stream selected in this way is input to the bit stream storage unit 164. Therefore, the bitstream storage unit 164 receives a bitstream Sc10 having a stuffing bitstream corresponding to a predetermined number of bits before and after each advertising bitstream Sc1 (hereinafter referred to as an “advertising bitstream with stuffing bits”). Is saved. afterwards,
This advertising bit stream Sc1 with stuffing bits
0 is the storage control signal C supplied from the storage control unit 166.
is output from the advertisement broadcasting server 220 on the basis of m. At this time, the storage control unit 166 generates a storage control signal Cm based on the advertisement selection control signal Ccm supplied from the advertisement insertion control unit 152, and converts the advertisement bit stream Sc10 with stuffing bits into the bit stream storage unit 164 during the advertisement broadcast period. Read from

On the other hand, the main video signal S2 reproduced by the main broadcast VTR 120 during the main program broadcast period based on the program table described above is compressed by the main broadcast encoder 122 in the same manner as in the fifth embodiment. And output as a main part bit stream Sc2.

As described above, the main broadcast encoder 12
2 and the advertising bit stream Sc10 with stuffing bits output from the advertising broadcast server 220 are input to the signal switch 150. The signal switch 150 includes the advertisement insertion control unit 15.
In response to the advertisement selection control signal Ccm shown in FIG. 15 (a) supplied from FIG. Output as a bit stream Sce for use. That is,
As shown in FIG. 15B, when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is L
When the level is at the level, the main part bit stream Sc2 is output as the digital broadcast bit stream Sce when the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is at the H level. The digital broadcast bit stream Sce is transmitted as radio waves through processing (not shown) such as multiplexing and digital modulation.

According to the present embodiment as described above, in the digital broadcast bit stream Sce, the stuffing bit stream as invalid information is added immediately before the advertisement bit stream corresponding to the advertisement video signal ( As shown in FIG. 15 (b), when the main program broadcast period is switched to the advertisement broadcast period, the occupancy in the VBV buffer is reduced to a sufficiently low value, and the advertisement bit stream appears after the stuffing bit stream.
Therefore, the overflow of the VBV buffer does not occur during the advertisement broadcast period even if the quantization step size is not particularly reduced when encoding the advertisement bit stream.
That is, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to transmit a digital broadcast bit stream at a predetermined bit rate and reliably decode the digital broadcast bit stream, while maintaining a constant video quality in an advertisement broadcast. In the present embodiment, since the stuffing bit stream is added immediately after the advertisement bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream Sce, the VBV buffer is used even when switching from the advertisement broadcast period to the main program broadcast period. The occupancy drops to a sufficiently low value. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in image quality in the main program broadcast immediately after switching from the advertisement broadcast period to the main program broadcast period.

In the above embodiment, the stuffing bit stream is added before and after the advertisement bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream Sce. However, it is only necessary to consider prevention of video quality deterioration in the advertisement broadcast. For example, a stuffing bit stream may be added only immediately before the advertisement bit stream.

<Eighth Embodiment> FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. This advertisement broadcast insertion device has the same configuration as the advertisement insertion device according to the seventh embodiment (FIG. 14) except for the advertisement insertion control unit 152d and the advertisement broadcast server 230, and the same parts are the same. And the detailed description is omitted.

[0094] The advertisement insertion control unit 152 in the present embodiment.
d is a stuffing bit addition control signal Csb and an advertisement video insertion control signal Ccm1 in addition to the advertisement selection control signal Ccm.
Is generated, and the advertisement selection control signal Ccm is output to the signal switch 150.
The stuffing bit addition control signal Csb is supplied to the changeover switch 216, and the advertisement video insertion control signal Ccm1 is supplied to the storage control unit 166. Here, the advertisement selection control C
The signal cm is a signal as shown in FIG. 17A, and is at the L level during the main program broadcast period and at the H level during the advertisement broadcast period. The stuffing bit addition control signal Csb is shown in FIG.
7 (b), which is an H level signal only during a predetermined period immediately after switching from the main program broadcasting period to the advertisement broadcasting period and during a predetermined period immediately before switching from the advertising broadcasting period to the main program broadcasting period. And L in other periods
Level. The advertisement video insertion control signal Ccm1 is shown in FIG.
(C) is a signal as shown in the advertisement broadcast period (Ccm
= “H”), the stuffing bit addition control signal Csb is at the H level only during the period during which the stuffing bit addition control signal Csb is at the L level, and is at the L level during other periods. In the advertisement insertion apparatus according to the present embodiment, the respective units operate as described below based on the control signals Ccm, Csb, and Ccm1, so that the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the video signal of the main program. A digital broadcast bit stream Sce, which is a compressed bit stream of the broadcast video signal, is generated.

Advertisement broadcast server 23 in this embodiment
0, as shown in FIG. 16, as in the case of the seventh embodiment, the advertisement broadcast encoder 212, the stuffing bit generator 224, the changeover switch 216, the bit stream storage 164, the storage control Section 166. However, in the advertisement broadcasting server 230, the stuffing bit, which is invalid information, is added after reading the advertisement video signal S1 which is compression-encoded and stored as an advertisement bit stream. This is different from the advertisement broadcasting server 220 in the seventh embodiment in which the added advertisement bitstream is stored. That is, in the present embodiment, the advertisement broadcasting VTR 110
The advertisement video signal S1 reproduced by the above is compression-encoded by the advertisement broadcast encoder 212. In this compression encoding, the bit rate of the digital broadcast bit stream Sce is added in order to add stuffing bits later. The generated code amount is controlled so that output can be performed at a bit rate smaller by a predetermined rate value than a predetermined value. By such compression encoding, the advertisement bit stream Sc1
Is generated and stored in the bitstream storage unit 164. Thereafter, based on the storage control signal Cm, the advertisement bit stream Sc1 is read from the bit stream storage unit 164 while the advertisement video insertion control signal Ccm1 is at the H level. The read advertisement bit stream Sc1 is input to the changeover switch 216. This changeover switch 21
Further, the stuffing bits which are invalid information of a predetermined number of bits generated by the stuffing bit generation unit 224 are input to 6 as a stuffing bit stream corresponding to the predetermined rate value. Selector switch 21
6 selects and outputs one of the advertisement bit stream Sc1 and the stuffing bit stream according to the stuffing bit addition control signal Csb. That is, the changeover switch 216 outputs the stuffing bit addition control signal Csb.
Is at the L level and the advertisement bit stream Sc1 is read from the bit stream storage unit 164 (when the advertisement video insertion control signal Ccm1 = "H"), the advertisement bit stream Sc1 is selected (FIG. 17 (c)). When the stuffing bit addition control signal Csb is at the H level, the stuffing bit stream is selected, and the selected bit stream is output as the stuffing bit-added bit stream Sc10. As a result, a bit stream having a stuffing bit stream corresponding to a predetermined number of bits before and after each advertising bit stream Sc1 is output from the advertising broadcast server 230 as a bit stream Sc10 with stuffing bits.

On the other hand, the main video signal S2 reproduced by the main broadcast VTR 120 during the main program broadcast period based on the program table described above is compressed by the main broadcast encoder 122 in the same manner as in the seventh embodiment. And output as a main part bit stream Sc2.

As described above, the main broadcast encoder 12
2 and the advertisement bitstream Sc10 with stuffing bits output from the advertisement broadcasting server 230 are input to the signal switch 150. As in the case of the seventh embodiment, the signal switch 150 selects one of the main bit stream Sc2 and the advertising bit stream with stuffing bit Sc10 according to the advertisement selection control signal Ccm, and selects the selected bit. The stream is output as a digital broadcast bit stream Sce as shown in FIG. The digital broadcast bit stream Sce is transmitted as radio waves through processing (not shown) such as multiplexing and digital modulation.

According to the present embodiment as described above, similarly to the seventh embodiment, the digital broadcast bit stream Sce
Since a stuffing bit stream, which is invalid information, is added immediately before an advertisement bit stream corresponding to an advertisement video signal (see FIG. 17D), quantization is particularly performed when encoding the advertisement bit stream. Even if the step size is not reduced, the VBV buffer does not overflow during the advertisement broadcast period. That is, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to transmit a digital broadcast bit stream at a predetermined bit rate and reliably decode the digital broadcast bit stream, while maintaining a constant video quality in an advertisement broadcast. In the present embodiment, since the stuffing bit stream is added immediately after the advertisement bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream Sce, the image quality in the main program broadcast immediately after switching from the advertisement broadcast period to the main program broadcast period is obtained. Can also be prevented from decreasing.

In the above embodiment, the stuffing bit stream is added before and after the advertisement bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream Sce. However, it is only necessary to consider prevention of video quality degradation in the advertisement broadcast. For example, a stuffing bit stream may be added only immediately before the advertisement bit stream.

<Ninth Embodiment> In digital broadcasting, unlike analog broadcasting, programs of a plurality of channels are multiplexed on one transponder, which is a unit when a broadcaster or the like transmits a program. In this case, for each of the plurality of channels, a device that generates a compressed bit stream of a video signal obtained by inserting a video signal for an advertisement broadcast into a video signal of a main program as a digital broadcast bit stream as in each of the above embodiments. It is necessary (these devices correspond to the advertisement broadcast insertion device of each of the above embodiments, and are hereinafter referred to as “broadcast bit stream generation devices”).

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a digital broadcasting system in a case where a program of three channels is multiplexed and broadcast on one transponder. This digital broadcasting system includes a broadcast bit stream generation device corresponding to the advertisement broadcast insertion device of each of the above-described embodiments, for each of the first to third channels. The digital broadcasting system further includes a channel code amount control device 350 and a multiplexing device 362. The channel code amount control device 350 includes a code amount control signal C for the first to third channels.
By generating ch1 to Cch3 and supplying them to the first to third channel broadcast bit stream generation devices 301 to 303, respectively, the first to third channel broadcast bit stream generation devices 301 to 303 It controls the amount of code generated by compression coding when generating the streams Sch1 to Sch3. Here, each channel code amount control signal Cchi (i = 1, 2, 3) includes a first control signal Cchia and a second control signal Cchib as described later. Under the control of the channel code amount control device 350, the first to third channel broadcast bit streams Sch1 to Sch3 generated by the first to third channel broadcast bit stream generation devices 301 to 303 are output by the multiplexer 362. Time-division multiplexing is performed and output from the multiplexer 362 as a multiplexed bit stream St.
This multiplexed bit stream St is transmitted as radio waves through processing (not shown) such as digital modulation.

Hereinafter, broadcast bit stream generating devices 301 to 30 in such a digital broadcasting system will be described.
3 and the channel code amount control device 350 according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention.
An embodiment will be described.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of the i-th channel broadcast bit stream generation device (i = 1, 2, 3). This broadcast bit stream generation device includes a main program broadcast VTR 120, a main program broadcast encoder 322, an advertisement broadcast VTR 110, an advertisement broadcast encoder 312, and a signal switch 150. An i-th channel broadcast bit stream Schi, which is a compressed bit stream of a video signal in which an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the signal, is generated.

In the above-mentioned broadcast bit stream generating apparatus, the advertisement broadcast VTR 110 reproduces a digital video signal of an advertisement broadcast during an advertisement broadcast period based on a program table described later, and outputs it as an advertisement video signal S1. The advertisement video signal S1 is input to the advertisement broadcast encoder 312. The advertisement broadcast encoder 312 includes a code amount control unit 322 and an encoding unit 134, as shown in FIG. The encoding unit 134 compression-encodes the advertisement video signal S1 and outputs the result as an advertisement bit stream Sc1. At this time, the quantization control unit 332 supplies the quantization control signal C1 to the encoding unit 134, and thereby outputs the advertisement bit stream Sc1 at a predetermined first bit rate so that the advertisement video signal S1 can be output. Controls the amount of code generated by compression coding.

On the other hand, the main part broadcast VTR 120 reproduces the digital video signal of the main part broadcast during the main part broadcast period based on the program table described later, and outputs the digital video signal as the main part video signal S2. The main video signal S2 is converted to a main broadcast encoder 322.
Is input to As shown in FIG. 19, the main broadcast encoder 322 includes a code amount control unit 342 and an encoding unit 144. The encoding unit 144 compression-codes the main video signal S2 and outputs it as a main bit stream Sc2. At this time, the quantization control unit 342 generates a quantization control signal C2 based on the second control signal Cchib constituting the i-th channel code amount control signal Cchi,
44 to control the amount of code generated by compression coding of the main video signal S2. Specifically, the code amount control device 342 outputs the main program bit stream at a second bit rate lower than the first bit rate by a predetermined value according to the second control signal Cchib. The amount of code generated by compression coding of the video signal S2 is controlled.

The advertisement bit stream Sc1 and the main part bit stream S1 generated under such code amount control
Both c2 are input to the signal switch 150. The signal switch 150 selects one of the advertisement bit stream Sc1 and the main part bit stream Sc2 according to the first control signal Cchia constituting the i-th channel code amount control signal Cchi, and converts the selected bitstream. Output as the i-th channel broadcast bit stream Schi. The broadcast bit stream Schi is input to the multiplexer 362. The broadcast bit stream Schi is a bit stream in which an advertisement bit stream is inserted into the main bit stream, and the bit rate of the advertisement bit stream (that is, the bit rate during the advertisement broadcast period) is the bit rate of the main bit stream (that is, the bit rate of the main bit stream). (The bit rate during the main program broadcast period).

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a second example of the configuration of the ith channel broadcast bit stream generator (i = 1, 2, 3). This broadcast bit stream generation device includes a main broadcast VTR 120 and an advertisement broadcast VTR 1.
10, an i-th channel broadcast bit stream Schi, which is a compressed bit stream of a video signal in which an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a main program video signal, comprising a signal switcher 150, and a broadcast encoder 390. Generate

In the above-described broadcast bit stream generating apparatus, the advertisement broadcast VTR 110 reproduces a digital video signal of an advertisement broadcast during an advertisement broadcast period based on a program table described later and outputs the digital video signal as an advertisement video signal S1. On the other hand, the main broadcast VTR 120 reproduces the digital video signal of the main program broadcast during the main program broadcast period based on the program table described later and outputs the digital video signal as the main video signal S2. These advertisement video signals S1
And the main video signal S2 are both input to the signal switch 150. The signal switch 150 selects one of the advertisement video signal S1 and the main video signal S2 according to the first control signal Cchia constituting the i-th channel code amount control signal Cchi, and converts the selected video signal. It is output as a digital broadcast video signal S. The digital broadcast video signal S is a video signal in which the advertisement video signal S1 is inserted into the main video signal S2, and is input to the broadcast encoder 390.

The broadcast encoder 390 includes a code amount control section 392 and an encoding section 394, as shown in FIG. The encoding unit 394 compression-encodes the digital broadcast video signal S output from the signal switch 150, and outputs it as an i-th channel broadcast bit stream Schi.
The code amount generated by the compression coding is controlled by the quantization control signal C output from the code amount control unit 392. That is, the code amount control unit 392 determines the bit rate of the advertisement broadcast period based on the i-th channel code amount control signal Cchi so that the bit rate of the advertisement broadcast period is higher than the bit rate of the main program broadcast period by a predetermined value. It controls the amount of code generated by compression coding. Further, the bit rate during the main program broadcast period is the i-th channel code amount control signal C
In accordance with the second control signal Cchib constituting chi, the amount of generated codes is controlled so as to be one of two preset bit rates. The i-th channel broadcast bit stream Sch generated under such code amount control.
i is input to the multiplexer 362. This i-th channel broadcast bit stream Schi is equivalent to the broadcast bit stream obtained by the first configuration example.

Next, the configuration and operation of the channel code amount control device 350 will be described. Channel code amount control device 35
0 is the time table storage unit 35 as shown in FIG.
2, a clock 354, and a code amount control unit 356, and receives program information Dpg and priority information Dpr from outside, and receives code amount control signals Cch1 to Cch3 for the first to third channels.
, And supplies these control signals Cch1 to Cch3 to the first to third channel broadcast bit stream generation devices 301 to 303 configured as shown in FIG. 19 or FIG.

The program information Dpg input from the outside is the first
-Information corresponding to a program table indicating a schedule of each program (including an advertisement broadcast) for the third channel. The priority information Dpr also input from the outside is information indicating the priority set for each program indicated by the program information Dpg, and means that a higher bit rate is assigned as the priority is higher. . The program information Dpg and the priority information Dpr are used as a time table (hereinafter referred to as a “channel code amount time table”) indicating the bit rate allocation to the first to third channels in one transponder in program units in association with time. ). In the channel code amount time table according to the present embodiment, two types of priorities, ie, first and second priorities, are provided as priorities, and each advertisement broadcast among the scheduled programs has the first priority. However, all programs other than advertisement broadcasting, that is,
Is set. Here, it is assumed that the first order has a higher priority than the second order. In the channel code amount time table, it is assumed that each program is scheduled so that advertisement videos are not broadcast on a plurality of channels at the same time, as shown in FIG. Therefore, among the channels of one transponder, the channel on which the advertisement broadcast is performed is at most one channel.

In the channel code amount control device 350,
The time table storage unit 352 stores the above-described channel code amount time table constituted by program information Dpg and priority information Dpr input from the outside. The clock 354 outputs a time signal indicating the current time. The code amount control unit 356 generates the first to third channel code amount control signals Cch1 to Cch3 based on the time signal from the clock 354 and the channel code amount time table stored in the time table storage unit 352. Here, each channel code amount control signal Cchi is composed of a first control signal Cchia and a second control signal Cchib (i = 1, 2, 3).
Then, the first control signal Cchia goes high during the advertisement broadcast period of the i-th channel, and goes low during the other periods. Further, the second control signal Cchib goes high when an advertisement broadcast is being performed on any channel other than the i-th channel, and goes low during other periods. In the broadcast bit stream generation device for each channel, the first and second control signals Cchia and C
Based on the chib, the amount of codes generated by compression encoding is controlled so that the broadcast bit stream Schi can be output at any one of three preset bit rates.
That is, when Cchia = “H” and Cchib = “L”, control is performed so that output can be performed at the highest bit rate among the three types of bit rates.
= "L", two of the three bit rates
It is controlled to output at the next highest bit rate,
When Cchia = “L” and Cchib = “H”, control is performed so that output can be performed at the lowest bit rate among the three types of bit rates. This is because, when an advertisement is broadcast on the channel, the bit rate of the channel becomes the highest bit rate among the above three types. This means that the bit rate of the channel is the lowest bit rate among the above three types.

When an advertisement broadcast is scheduled as shown in FIG. 21, for example, the period from 9:54 to 10:00 is the advertisement broadcast period T on the second channel CH2.
cm. Therefore, in this period Tcm, the second channel code amount control signal Cch2 becomes Cch2a = "H" and Cch2b = "L" as shown in FIGS.
Therefore, in the advertisement broadcast period Tcm of the second channel, the second channel bit stream generation device 302 sets the predetermined bit rate higher than the bit rate in the main program broadcast period (the period in which the first control signal Cch2a = "L"). The advertisement video signal S1 is compression-encoded so that it can be output at a rate (see FIG. 22C), and is output as a second channel broadcast bit stream Sch2. On the other hand, the first and third channel code amount control signals Cch1 and Cch3 are Cch1a = “L” and Cch2b during the advertisement broadcast period Tcm of the second channel.
= "H", Cch3a = "L", Cch3b = "H". Therefore, in the second channel advertisement broadcast period Tcm, the first channel broadcast bit stream generation device 30
1 is based on the second control signal Cch1b so that it can be output at a lower bit rate than a period during which no advertisement broadcast is performed in any of the other channels (a period during which the second control signal Cch1b = "L"). Then, the main video signal S2 is compression-coded and output as a first channel broadcast bit stream Sch1. Also, the advertisement broadcast period Tcm of this second channel
In the above, based on the second control signal Cch3b, the third channel broadcast bit stream generation device 303 performs a period in which no advertisement broadcast is performed in any other channel (a period in which the second control signal Cch3b = "L"). ), The main video signal S2 is compression-encoded so that it can be output at a lower bit rate, and the third channel broadcast bit stream Sch
Output as 3. At this time, the code amount control units 332 and 342 or the code amount control unit 392 in each of the broadcast bit stream generation devices 301 to 303 are configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, during the advertisement broadcast period Tcm of the second channel, the first and third channel broadcast bit streams Sch
The amount of code generated by compression encoding is controlled so that the sum of the bit rate reductions of 1 and Sch3 is equal to the bit rate increase of the second channel broadcast bit stream Sch2. Therefore, when an advertisement broadcast is being performed on any channel in one transponder,
The bit rate assignment for each channel is changed while the bit rate for the entire transponder remains constant, and the bit rate for the channel on which the advertisement broadcast is being performed increases. In the example shown in FIG.
The bit rate that can be transmitted by one transponder is 18
Mbps, and during the period when the advertisement broadcast is not performed in any of the first to third channels CH1 to CH3,
Although the bit rates allocated to the first to third channels CH1 to CH3 are all equal to 6 Mbps, in the advertising broadcast period Tcm of the second channel, the bit rate allocated to the second channel CH2 increases to 8 Mbps,
And the bit rates assigned to the third channels CH1 and CH3 are both reduced to 5 Mbps.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the bit rate allocated to the channel on which the advertisement broadcast is performed among the plurality of channels in one transponder increases, so that the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast can be improved. The image quality of the advertisement broadcast can be maintained at a certain level or more. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Since at most one of the channels in one transponder is broadcast on the advertisement, only one channel increases the bit rate at each time. Therefore, when the bit rate increases during the advertisement broadcast period for a certain channel, the amount of decrease in the bit rate for another channel is relatively small.

In the above embodiment, only two types of priorities are set for each program. However, three or more types of priorities may be provided. In this case, it is preferable to set the highest priority to the advertisement broadcast in order to maintain the quality of the video in the advertisement broadcast at a certain level or more. In this case, since a plurality of types of priorities are set for the main part of the program, it is necessary to control the amount of code generated by compression encoding of the main part video signal S1 according to the priorities. For this purpose, each channel code amount control signal C
chi and each broadcast bit stream generation device 301
The code amount control units 342 or 392 in the steps 303 to 303 may control the generated code amount in accordance with the priority specified by each channel code amount control signal Cchi.

In the above embodiment, the number of channels in one transponder is three, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement insertion device according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a code amount control unit in a main broadcast encoder according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a change in the occupancy of a VBV buffer when an advertisement broadcast encoder encodes an advertisement broadcast video signal in the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a change in the occupancy of a VBV buffer before and after insertion of an advertisement broadcast when the configuration of FIG. 2A is employed for code amount control in the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a change in the occupancy of a VBV buffer before and after insertion of an advertisement broadcast when the configuration of FIG. 2B is employed for code amount control in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertising method insertion device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a code amount control unit in an encoder for advertisement transmission according to the third embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an advertisement insertion device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining code amount control in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the advertisement method insertion device according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the advertisement method insertion device according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the advertising method insertion device according to the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the advertising method insertion device according to the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a digital broadcast system in a case where a program of three channels is multiplexed and broadcast on one transponder.

19 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of a broadcast bit stream generation device for each channel in the digital broadcast system shown in FIG.

20 is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of the broadcast bit stream generation device for each channel in the digital broadcasting system shown in FIG.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an advertisement broadcast schedule represented by program information input to the channel code amount control device according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a timing chart for explaining a control operation by the channel code amount control device according to the ninth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a conventional configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion device in analog broadcasting.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a conventional configuration of an advertisement broadcast insertion device in digital broadcasting.

[Explanation of symbols]

110 ... Advertising broadcast VTRs 112, 212 ... Advertising broadcast encoder 120 ... Main broadcast VTR 122 ... Main broadcast encoder 132, 142 ... Code amount control units 134, 144 ... Encoding unit 150 ... Signal switch 152, 152b, 152c, 152d ... advertisement insertion control unit 160, 210, 220, 230 ... advertisement broadcast server 162 ... advertisement broadcast encoder 164 ... bit stream storage unit 166 ... storage control unit 171, 180, 181, 182 ... Buffer occupancy setting registers 176, 186 ... Quantization control unit 184 ... Changeover switch 190 ... Broadcast encoder 192 ... Code amount control unit 194 ... Coding units 201 and 202 ... Buffer occupancy setting register 214 ... Still image storage Unit 216 ... Switch 224 ... Stuffing bit generator 301-303 ... Broadcast Stream generator 312 advertisement encoder 322 main stream encoder 332 342 code amount control unit 350 channel code amount control unit 352 time table storage unit 354 clock 356 code amount control unit S1 ... Advertising video signal S2 ... Main video signal Sc1 ... Advertising bit stream Sc2 ... Main bit stream Sc1s ... Advertising bit stream with still image Sc10 ... Advertising bit stream with stuffing bits Sca, Scb, Scc, Scd, Sce ... Digital broadcasting bits Stream S, Sd: Digital broadcast video signal Ss: Still image signal C1, C2, C: Quantization control signal Ccm: Advertising selection control signal Ccm1: Advertising video insertion control signal Ccm2: Code amount control switching signal Csi: Still image addition Control signal Csb ... stuffing bit addition control signal Sch1-Sch3 ... broadcast Bit stream Cch1 to Cch3 ... channel code amount control signal Dpg ... program information Dpr ... priority information

Claims (30)

[Claims] 1. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be output at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement broadcast video signal is compressed and coded to be output at the predetermined bit rate by an intra-frame encoding method. A second encoding step of generating a main program bit stream by compressing and encoding the main program broadcast video signal so that the video signal can be output at the predetermined bit rate; A predetermined storage means for using a compressed bit stream obtained by the compression encoding in the step as an advertisement bit stream; A storage step of storing the advertisement bit stream and the main program bit stream according to the advertisement selection control signal, and an output step of outputting the advertisement bit stream to the storage unit in response to the advertisement selection control signal. A signal switching step of selecting one of them according to the advertisement selection control signal to generate the digital broadcast bit stream. 2. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted in a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be output at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement bit stream is generated by compression-encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate. A second encoding step of generating a main program bit stream by compression-encoding the main program video signal so that the video signal can be output at the predetermined bit rate; and Storing the stream in a predetermined storage means; and An output step of outputting a bit stream to the storage unit; receiving the advertisement bit stream output in the output step and the main program bit stream generated in the second encoding step; A signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting any one of the digital broadcast bit streams according to the advertisement selection control signal. In the case where the data is output at a predetermined bit rate, the occupation amount in the buffer used at the time of decoding is a predetermined value smaller than the size of the buffer.
A first code amount control step of controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding in the first encoding step so as to be equal to or less than a value of the first encoding step, wherein the second encoding step includes at least the signal switching step Immediately before the advertisement bit stream is selected, when the digital broadcast bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate, the occupancy in the buffer is a value obtained by subtracting the first value from the size of the buffer. The second value is set to be equal to or less than the second value.
An advertisement broadcast insertion method, comprising a second code amount control step of controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding in the encoding step. 3. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be output at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement bit stream is generated by compression-encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate. A second encoding step of generating a main program bit stream by compression-encoding the main program broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate; and Receiving a bit stream and the advertising bit stream, and among the received bit streams, And a signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting any one of the digital broadcast bit stream and the digital broadcast bit stream according to the advertisement selection control signal. When the output is performed at the bit rate of the first buffer, the occupation amount in the buffer used at the time of decoding is a predetermined value smaller than the size of the buffer.
A first code amount control step of controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding in the first encoding step so as to be equal to or less than a value of the first encoding step, wherein the second encoding step includes at least the signal switching step Immediately before the advertisement bit stream is selected, when the digital broadcast bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate, the occupancy in the buffer is a value obtained by subtracting the first value from the size of the buffer. The second value is set to be equal to or less than the second value.
An advertisement broadcast insertion method, comprising a second code amount control step of controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding in the encoding step. 4. A compressed bit stream of an advertising broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so that it can be output at a predetermined bit rate, comprising: receiving the main program and advertisement broadcast video signals;
By selecting one of the received two video signals according to the advertisement selection control signal, a video signal in which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the main program broadcast video signal is generated as a broadcast video signal. Generating the digital broadcast bit stream by compression encoding the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast video signals included in the broadcast video signal based on the advertisement selection control signal. An encoding step, wherein the encoding step is used for decoding when the digital broadcast bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate during the compression encoding of the advertisement broadcast video signal. So that the occupation amount in the buffer to be executed is equal to or less than a first value smaller than the size of the buffer by a predetermined amount. Controlling the amount of codes generated by the compression encoding; and at the time of compression encoding of the main program broadcast video signal, at least immediately before the advertisement broadcast video signal is selected in the signal switching step, the digital broadcast A code amount control step of controlling a code amount generated by the compression encoding so that an occupation amount in the buffer is equal to or smaller than a size of the buffer when a bit stream for use is output at the predetermined bit rate. Broadcast insertion method. 5. The buffer whose occupancy is referred to in the code amount control step is a buffer defined by the MPEG standard.
The advertisement broadcast insertion method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the advertisement broadcast insertion method is a BV buffer. 6. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so that the digital broadcast bit stream can be output at a predetermined bit rate, an adding step of adding a predetermined number of frames of a still image video signal immediately before the advertisement broadcast video signal, A first encoding step of generating an advertisement bit stream by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal to which the video signal of the still image is added so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate; Storing the advertisement bitstream in response to the advertisement selection control signal. An output step of causing the storage means to output, receiving the advertisement bit stream and the compressed bit stream of the main program broadcast video signal output in the output step, and selecting one of the received bit streams from the advertisement. A signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting according to a control signal. 7. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so that the digital broadcast bit stream can be output at a predetermined bit rate, an adding step of adding a predetermined number of frames of a still image video signal immediately before the advertisement broadcast video signal, Receiving the advertisement broadcast video signal to which the still image video signal is added and the main program broadcast video signal, and selecting one of the received video signals according to the advertisement selection control signal; Thus, the video signal in which the advertisement broadcast video signal including the still image video signal is inserted into the main program broadcast video signal is converted into a broadcast video signal. Coding step and, advertisement broadcast insertion method comprising generating the digital broadcast bit stream and a signal switching step of generating, by compression coding to enable outputting the broadcast video signal at a predetermined bit rate as a. 8. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be output at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement broadcast video signal can be output at a bit rate lower than the predetermined bit rate by a predetermined rate value. A first encoding step of performing compression encoding, and adding a stuffing bit which is an amount of invalid information corresponding to the predetermined rate value immediately before the compressed bit stream generated by the compression encoding in the first encoding step. Adding the compressed bit stream to which the stuffing bits have been added, as an advertisement bit stream. A storage step for storing the advertisement bit stream in the storage means in response to the advertisement selection control signal; an advertisement bit stream and the program output in the output step A signal switching step of receiving the compressed bit stream of the main broadcast video signal and selecting one of the received two bit streams in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal to generate the digital broadcast bit stream; An advertisement broadcast insertion method comprising: 9. A compressed bit stream of an advertising broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be output at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement broadcast video signal can be output at a bit rate lower than the predetermined bit rate by a predetermined rate value. A first encoding step of generating an advertisement bit stream by compression encoding; a storage step of storing the advertisement bit stream in a predetermined storage unit; and a step of storing the advertisement bit stream in response to the advertisement selection control signal. An output step of causing the storage means to output, based on the advertisement selection control signal, the storage means An adding step of adding a stuffing bit, which is an amount of invalid information corresponding to the predetermined rate value, immediately before the advertising bit stream output from the advertisement bit stream; And a compressed bit stream of the main program broadcast video signal, and selecting one of the received two bit streams according to the advertisement selection control signal to generate the digital broadcast bit stream. And a switching step. 10. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be output at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement bit stream is compressed and encoded so that the advertisement broadcast video signal can be output at a first bit rate. A first encoding step of generating a main program, a second encoding step of generating a main program bit stream by compressively encoding the video signal for main program broadcasting so as to be output at a second bit rate, Receiving a bit stream and the advertising bit stream, and selecting either of the received bit streams A signal switching step of generating the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting one of them according to the advertisement selection control signal; and wherein the first bit rate is higher than the second bit rate by a predetermined rate value. A code amount control step of controlling a code amount generated by compression coding in each of the first and second coding steps. 11. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion method for generating a digital broadcast bit stream so that it can be output at a predetermined bit rate, comprising: receiving the main program and advertisement broadcast video signals;
By selecting one of the received two video signals according to the advertisement selection control signal, a video signal in which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the main program broadcast video signal is generated as a broadcast video signal. And a coding step of compressing and coding the broadcast video signal to generate the digital broadcast bit stream. The coding step includes the steps of: In the encoding step, the bit rate of the compressed bit stream corresponding to the advertisement broadcast video signal is higher than the bit rate of the compressed bit stream corresponding to the main program broadcast video signal by a predetermined rate value. Including a code amount control step of controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding,
Advertising broadcast insertion method. 12. A channel code amount control method for controlling allocation of bit rates to a plurality of channels of digital broadcasting included in one transponder, wherein the allocation of the bit rates to the plurality of channels is associated with time. A time table storing step of receiving information indicating the time table described from the outside and storing the information in a predetermined storage means, so that a bit rate is assigned to the plurality of channels according to the time table. A code amount control step of controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding for generating a compressed bit stream broadcast on each of the plurality of channels, wherein the time table includes: The channel being advertised is larger than the other channels. A channel code amount control method, characterized in that the assignment of the bit rate is described so that a rate is assigned. 13. The time table is configured such that a program table indicating a schedule of each program including an advertisement broadcast for the plurality of channels and a priority order for each program are set such that the highest priority is set for the advertisement broadcast. 13. The channel code amount control according to claim 12, wherein in the code amount control step, the generated code amount is controlled such that a higher bit rate is assigned as the priority is higher. Method. 14. The program according to claim 13, wherein the time table describes a program guide in which at least one of the plurality of channels on which an advertisement is broadcast is at each time. Channel code amount control method. 15. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal according to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be able to be output at a predetermined bit rate, and outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. A storage unit for storing a compressed bit stream obtained by compressing and encoding a broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate by the intra-frame encoding method as the advertisement bit stream; Outputting the advertisement bit stream to the storage means in response to a selection control signal Ad bit stream output device comprising: a storage control unit, the to. 16. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be able to be output at a predetermined bit rate, and outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. A storage unit that stores a compressed bit stream obtained by compressing and encoding a broadcast video signal as the advertisement bit stream; and outputting the advertisement bit stream to the storage unit in response to the advertisement selection control signal. Storage control means for causing the advertisement bit stream to When the advertisement bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate, the advertisement broadcast is controlled while controlling the generated code amount such that the occupation amount in a buffer used at the time of decoding is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value smaller than the size of the buffer. An advertisement bit stream output device obtained by compressing and encoding a video signal for use. 17. An advertisement bit stream is generated by compression-encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal, wherein the encoding means outputs the advertisement bit stream at the predetermined bit rate. In such a case, the code amount control means for controlling the code amount generated by the compression coding of the coding means is controlled so that the occupation amount in the buffer used at the time of decoding is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value smaller than the size of the buffer. 17. The advertisement bitstream output device according to claim 16, comprising: 18. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be able to be output at a predetermined bit rate, and outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. Encoding means for generating the advertisement bit stream by compression-encoding a broadcast video signal so as to be output at the predetermined bit rate; and decoding when the advertisement bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate. Occupancy in the buffer used at the time is larger than the size of the buffer As will be less than a small predetermined value, the ad bit stream output device and a code amount control means for controlling the amount of generated code by the compression encoding of the encoding means. 19. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be able to be output at a predetermined bit rate, and outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. A compression bit stream obtained by compression-encoding a video signal to which a video signal of a still image of a predetermined number of frames is added immediately before a broadcast video signal so that the video signal can be output at the predetermined bit rate is used as the advertisement bit stream. Storage means stored in advance, and the advertisement video in response to the advertisement selection control signal. Ad bit stream output device comprising: a storage control means for outputting the bets stream in the storage means. 20. An adding means for adding the video signal of the still image immediately before the video signal for the advertisement broadcast, and adding the video signal for the advertisement broadcast to which the video signal of the still image is added at the predetermined bit rate. Encoding means for generating the advertisement bit stream by compression encoding so as to be capable of being output, further comprising:
10. The advertisement bitstream output device according to item 9. 21. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between a main program broadcast and an advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be able to be output at a predetermined bit rate, and outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. Immediately before a compressed bit stream obtained by compressing and encoding a broadcast video signal so that it can be output at a bit rate lower than the predetermined bit rate by a predetermined rate value, this is invalid information of an amount corresponding to the predetermined rate value. The compressed bit stream with the stuffing bits added is A storage unit that previously stores a beam, in response to said ad selection control signal and a storage control unit configured to output the advertisement bitstream in the storage means ad bit stream output device. 22. Encoding means for compressing and encoding the advertising broadcast video signal at a bit rate lower than the predetermined bit rate by a predetermined rate value; 22. An adding unit for generating the advertisement bit stream by adding the stuffing bits immediately before the compressed bit stream to be added.
3. The advertisement bitstream output device according to item 1. 23. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement bit stream output device that is used to generate a digital broadcast bit stream so as to be able to be output at a predetermined bit rate, and outputs an advertisement bit stream that is a compressed bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal. Storage means for previously storing a compressed bit stream obtained by performing compression encoding so that output can be performed at a bit rate lower by a predetermined rate value than the bit rate of the compressed bit stream stored in the storage means Storage control means for outputting to said storage means in response to said advertisement selection control signal Based on the advertisement selection control signal, by adding a stuffing bit, which is an amount of invalid information corresponding to the predetermined rate value, immediately before the compressed bit stream output from the storage means, An advertisement bit stream output device comprising: 24. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion device that generates a digital broadcast bit stream so that it can be output at a predetermined bit rate, comprising: compressing and encoding the main program broadcast video signal so that it can be output at the predetermined bit rate; An encoding unit that generates a bit stream; a storage unit that stores a compressed bit stream obtained by compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal as an advertisement bit stream in advance; and, in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal. Storage control means for outputting the advertisement bit stream to the storage means; and the encoding means By receiving the main program bit stream generated from the above and the advertisement bit stream output from the storage unit, and selecting one of the received two bit streams according to the advertisement selection control signal, Signal switching means for generating a digital broadcast bit stream, wherein the advertisement bit stream has a buffer occupancy used in decoding when the advertisement bit stream is output at the predetermined bit rate. Compression encoding is performed while controlling the generated code amount so as to be equal to or less than a first value which is a predetermined value smaller than the size of the advertisement selection control signal, and the encoding unit performs at least the signal switching based on the advertisement selection control signal. Immediately before the advertisement bit stream is selected by the means, The encoding means such that when the stream is output at the predetermined bit rate, the occupation amount in the buffer is equal to or less than a second value which is a value obtained by subtracting the first value from the size of the buffer. An advertisement broadcast insertion device including a code amount control means for controlling a generated code amount by compression encoding. 25. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in accordance with an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion device that generates a digital broadcast bit stream so that the digital broadcast bit stream can be output at a predetermined bit rate, an adding unit that adds a video signal of the still image immediately before the advertisement broadcast video signal, By compressing and encoding the advertisement broadcast video signal to which the video signal is added so that the advertisement broadcast video signal can be output at the predetermined bit rate, the compression bit stream of the advertisement broadcast video signal forming the digital broadcast bit stream is converted. And an encoding unit for generating the advertisement broadcast. 26. A compressed bit stream of a video signal for an advertisement broadcast is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a video signal for a main program broadcast in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion device that generates a digital broadcast bit stream so that it can be output at a predetermined bit rate, wherein the advertisement bit stream is compressed and encoded so that the advertisement broadcast video signal can be output at a first bit rate. A first encoding unit for generating a main program, a second encoding unit for generating a main program bit stream by compression-encoding the video signal for main program broadcast so as to be output at a second bit rate, Receiving the bitstream and the advertising bitstream, and precedes either of the received bitstreams. A signal switching unit that generates the digital broadcast bit stream by selecting the digital broadcast in accordance with the advertisement selection control signal, such that the first bit rate is higher than the second bit rate by a predetermined rate value. And a code amount control unit for controlling a code amount generated by the compression encoding by each of the first and second encoding units. 27. A compressed bit stream of an advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into a compressed bit stream of a main program broadcast video signal in response to an advertisement selection control signal indicating a switching timing between the main program broadcast and the advertisement broadcast. An advertisement broadcast insertion device that generates a digital broadcast bit stream so that the digital broadcast bit stream can be output at a predetermined bit rate, and receives the main program and the advertisement broadcast video signals.
By selecting one of the received two video signals according to the advertisement selection control signal, a video signal in which the advertisement broadcast video signal is inserted into the main program broadcast video signal is generated as a broadcast video signal. Signal encoding means for generating the digital broadcast bit stream by compression-encoding the broadcast video signal, wherein the encoding means converts a compressed bit stream in the digital broadcast bit stream. The compression by the encoding means such that the bit rate of the compressed bit stream corresponding to the advertisement broadcast video signal is higher by a predetermined rate value than the bit rate of the compressed bit stream corresponding to the main program broadcast video signal. Advertisement broadcast insertion including code amount control means for controlling the code amount generated by encoding Location. 28. A channel code amount control device for controlling assignment of bit rates to a plurality of channels of digital broadcasting included in one transponder, wherein the assignment of the bit rates to the plurality of channels is associated with time. A time table storing means for storing a time table described in the form of a time table, and a broadcast on each of the plurality of channels based on the time table so that bit rates are assigned to the plurality of channels according to the time table. Code amount control means for controlling the amount of code generated by compression encoding for generating a compressed bit stream to be generated, wherein the time table further includes another Said bit rate so that a higher bit rate is assigned than the channel A channel code amount control device, characterized in that the assignment is described. 29. The time table describes a program table including an advertisement broadcast schedule for the plurality of channels and a priority order for each program such that the highest priority is set for the advertisement broadcast. 29. The channel code amount control device according to claim 28, wherein the code amount control means controls the generated code amount such that a higher bit rate is assigned as the priority is higher. 30. The timetable according to claim 29, wherein the timetable describes a program table in which at least one of the plurality of channels on which an advertisement is broadcast is at each time. Channel code amount control device.